Home › Lab markers › ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase)
COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL (CMP)
Also printed as: ALP · Alk Phos · Alkaline phosphatase
Educational only — not medical advice.
ALP is an enzyme that comes mainly from your liver and bile ducts and from bone. Because two very different tissues contribute, the number alone does not say which one moved. Growth, pregnancy, and bone remodelling all raise it naturally.
ALP is the marker that most often needs a second question: liver or bone? Clinicians answer it with GGT or a bone-specific test, and with the rest of the liver group.
TYPICAL ADULT RANGE
Many labs report roughly 40–130 U/L for adults. Ranges vary by lab and run higher in growing teenagers and in pregnancy. Reported in U/L.
Reference ranges vary by lab, by method, and by age and sex. Always read your own result against the range printed on your report.
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Low ALP is uncommon and usually not a concern on its own. It can accompany low zinc or magnesium, lower thyroid activity, or, rarely, an inherited variation. There is nothing to do about it from a single reading — mention it if it is persistent so your doctor can decide whether it fits anything else in your picture.
A mildly high ALP has plenty of ordinary explanations: healing bone, recent growth in younger people, pregnancy, and simply where some individuals sit. Bile-duct and liver causes are the other half of the picture, and certain medications raise it as an expected effect. The standard next step is a GGT — if GGT is also up, the liver is the likely source; if it is not, bone probably is. That is a routine follow-up your doctor can order.
Your doctor is the one who can read this number against your history, symptoms, and medications.
Educational only — not medical advice. Lab results only mean something alongside your history, symptoms, medications, and the rest of your panel. Bring questions to your doctor; they are the one who can interpret your results for you.
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